"Wooo~~~"
The yak horn sounded skyward, and Heyuan Prefecture trembled beneath its call. Morning drills had just ended; before the soldiers could eat or rest, they donned their armor again, remounted, and seized their spears.
"Quick, quick, quick! Assemble at the training field, assemble at the training field! There's no time to eat—we'll eat when we get back! A Wu, go notify the First, Second, and Third Camps at once. Assemble!" Yang Xu charged into the camp, beating a bronze gong and interrupting officer after officer who had just sat down to eat.
A Wu grabbed a mouthful of rice from the bucket, stuffed it into his mouth, and rose to his feet.
"General, what happened?"
"The Southern Border has changed. Martial Saints and Grand Shamans are in a chaotic battle—more than a dozen of them. Northern Court seized the chance to move south. The Dragon Elephant Martial Saint and the Wolf Lord have already begun fighting. North Wind, Spring King, Eagle Soaring, and King Qing have joined the battle, and more Martial Saints are moving behind them. Eight Beasts has already moved. Quick, quick, quick! Put on your armor, put on your armor! Everyone assembled within ten breaths!"
Everyone jolted in alarm and set down their bowls and chopsticks. Suddenly, a fierce wind shrieked, making the tents flap wildly.
Yang Xu stepped from the tent and looked up.
Meteors streaked across the heavens from south to north, colliding in brilliant sparks. Ripples spread outward, and the clouds over half the sky blazed as though set aflame.
Crisscrossing gang winds shattered the vault of heaven, like smashing the solid ice in a water vat with a stone in the morning.
This battle at the start of the year was more chaotic and grander than the one in the middle of